Added Remdesivir May Benefit Patients Receiving Immunomodulators for COVID-19

In addition to standard treatment, combining remdesivir with immunomodulators tocilizumab or baricitinib may provide benefit for improving respiratory status of patients with COVID-19, according to findings published in the Journal of Medical Virology.

“When used in combination with standard therapy, both [tocilizumab and baricitinib] have been demonstrated to reduce mortality in patients with severe COVID-19, especially those with high oxygen demand,” wrote a research team from Japan. “Although some of these studies used remdesivir, the contribution of remdesivir to the outcomes remains unclear.”

The retrospective study looked at 98 patients with COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab or baricitinib at Hokkaido University Hospital between April 2020 and September 2021. Among them, 72 patients were also treated with remdesivir (remdesivir group) and 26 patients were not (control group).

Respiratory recovery was achieved over a median 11 days in the remdesivir group compared with 21 days in the control group, according to the study. Weaning from supplemental oxygen was also faster in the remdesivir group. At days 14 and 28, severity level as well as improvement from baseline severity was better in the remdesivir group compared with the control group.

Remdesivir combination therapy, however, did not prolong survival.

“Compared with the control group, the [remdesivir] combination group had a shorter time to recovery of respiratory status and a higher improvement rate at days 14 and 28,” researchers concluded. “The findings indicate the potential benefits of remdesivir as adjunctive therapy in COVID-19 patients receiving immunomodulators and standard treatment, although these benefits need to be confirmed in future prospective studies.”

Reference:
Kojima Y, Nakakubo S, Kamada K, et al. Combination therapy with remdesivir and immunomodulators improves respiratory status in COVID-19: a retrospective study. J Med Virol. Published online August 2, 2022. doi:10.1002/jmv.28037